How do I save my previous ssh sessions

Question

I currently have to SSH into many different systems. Is there a way to for me to save the hostname / IP of the host so that I do not have to constantly type in the hostname / IP address every time I want to start a new SSH session? Basically I would like to replicate Putty's save sessions ability on Ubuntu 12.04.4.

Kind Regards,

Tim

Solution

You can use the ~/.ssh/config file for this. I'll give you an example:

HOST <yourHost>
    HostName <IP or DNS of the Host>
    Port <port (just needed if other then the standard (22))>
    User <username to connect>
    IdentityFile <path to an private keyfile (optional) - you can use ~, also>

If you have more than one host just repeat this sections for every host...

to use it just type ssh <yourHost>.

Hope this helps!

Comments

[user247504]

Thank you kindly for the response Wolfgang. Is there a GUI option because I have potentially hundreds of systems to access.

[Wolfgang]

what do you mean with "GUI option"? To edit the .ssh/config file? You can edit it with every editor you want... - or do you mean to connect by using a gui? SecPanel is such an application: apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/precise/secpanel as an hint: if you use the .ssh/config file and type "ssh <..>" you get also bash completion for the Hosts, listed in the config file.

[user247504]

SecPanel is what I was looking for. Fantastic!!! Many thanks Wolfgang, you've made my life easier!!

[Henning Kockerbeck]

In addition to SecPanel, there's a similar tool called PAC Manager with additional features. For example, you can group the connections, switch between sessions in a tabbed interface or show multiple sessions in a split view. PAC Manager packages are available from GetDeb.